Workings of a Distorted Mind
by Lord Retro
Summary: A gathering of my small one shots, drabbles, and challenge responses.
1. Inheritance

This is a place for me to put all the little things I write that I'd like to share, but don't want to post as an independent story. Helps keep down the clutter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

My own personal take on the Gringotts inheritance scene.

--ooOoo--

Harry Potter sat in one of Gringotts private offices. He had been summoned to appear on his 17th birthday to go over his family estate. The young man was nervous, but was oddly excited to see what mementos his parents had left him. Plus, a small part of him was wondering just how extensive the so called Potter Fortune was, especially since it had Ron so envious.

The Goblin entered and, sneering, placed a single piece of parchment in front of the boy hero. "Sign here Mr. Potter, and be on your way."

Harry blinked. This was not was he was expecting. He picked up the parchment and read through the rather short text. In essence, it stated that he was taking control of vault 687 which contained 12,020 Galleons, 2 Sickles, and 3 Knuts.

"Um, sir, is this my correct account balance? It seems a little, well, low."

The goblin glared at him. "Are you insinuating that Gringotts has cheated you?"

Harry gulped. "N-no sir, not at all. I had just thought that after my inheritance from my Godfather I would have more than that."

With an exaggerated sigh, the goblin drew out a large ledger and opened it to the middle. "Account activity for vault 687 in descending order. August 15th, 1996 a withdrawal of 23 Galleons. June 23, 1996 a transfer from vault 711 of 9,243 Galleons, 1 Sickle. August 9, 1995 an authorized withdrawal of 10 Galleons. August 14, 1994 an authorized withdrawal of 10 Galleons. August 8, 1993 a withdrawal of 33 Galleons. August 20, 1992 a withdrawal of 25 Galleons. August 1, 1991 a withdrawal of 41 Galleons. May 17, 1980 a payroll deposit from Tallow's Terrific Texts in Godric's Hollow for Lily Potter of 5 Galleons. Do you need me to go back any further?"

Harry was dumbfounded. He had thought he had much more money than this. "What about interest? I thought accounts garnered interest?"

Another sneer. "That is only on savings vaults. Your vault was a standard storage vault. Now if you'll excuse me."

Harry's head was spinning. Surely his parents had a vault and this was his trust vault as Ron had thought. Hadn't he heard Malfoy talking about the wonderful treasures hidden within his family vault? There were even rumors of him being related to Godric Gryffindor. Maybe there was a Gryffindor family vault? "But, what about other vaults? Didn't the Potters have a family vault for heirlooms? Or maybe a vault of my ancestors?"

The goblin was getting visibly annoyed. "I assure you that is the only vault the Potter family had. As for your ancestors, we have no documentation so the answer is no."

The being got up to leave as Harry got desperate. "But can't you at least check?"

Grumbling, the goblin returned. "It's a 75 Galleon fee to run a bloodline trace, and a 25 Galleon fee if no new claims can be made."

"100 Galleons to find out nothing? That's outrageous!"

"It also deters those who are merely trying to grub up money. Do you want it or not."

Harry hung his head in defeat. 100 Galleons was a decent amount of his money and he couldn't afford to just throw funds away. But with the rumors, there had to be SOME truth. Steeling his Gryffindor resolve, he nodded. "I agree."

Almost faster than he could believe, his finger had been pricked. 13 drops of blood were added to a potion vial which was shaken exactly 27 times in each hand before being dumped onto what looked like a palm frond. The goblin reached into a pocket and sprinkled a glittering dust on the whole mixture before rolling it up and lighting one end on fire. The goblin picked the slowly burning leaf up and took a long drag before blowing purple smoke into a clear globe that Harry was sure hadn't been there before.

As the goblin took another hit, words began to form in the smoke.

Harry James Potter  
Vault 687  
Vault 1

A violent cough filled the room as the goblin beat on his chest. Without saying a word he reached under the desk and pushed a hidden button, before taking the rest of the burning leaf into another room, leaving Harry to sit and wonder what the hell was going on.

He didn't have to wait long as moments after the original goblin departed a very old (if Harry could judge goblin ages properly, which he couldn't) goblin entered and sat in a very plush chair that rose from the floor.

"Well Mr. Potter, it seems you have a claim to the very first vault ever opened at Gringotts. A very special day indeed. The year was 985. I can remember when he came in. Tall and built like an ox. Which reminds me, I need to have lunch soon. It was opening day and I was a lowly mid rank senior teller with a desk closest the door. I'd taken a shot of gleelzub before my shift, as I was wont to do back then, and escorted him down myself. Although we didn't have carts back then, we had to whip a unicorn to take a grain sack on a rope uphill. 'Course that was before the rathled Ministry said we couldn't use Unicorns, and Acromantula tended to eat the customers. Down and down, deeper and deeper we went until we reached the end of the line. I opened the door and he put his life savings inside, emptying out the fancy purse. Monogrammed and everything, gluth was that a fancy purse. I always wanted one of them. 'Course once I could afford one they had made 'em more expensive and then I had to save up a bit more. Never did get me one of them. Anyways, where was I? Oh, um, hello. Who are you?"

Harry just stared at the smiling goblin who was obviously waiting for a reply. "Harry Potter sir."

"Oh, well now Harry Potter, it's been awhile but I'm pretty sure I remember how to set up a new account. Been saving up your allowance then?"

A flash of anger as Harry tried to get his temper in check. "No, sir, you were telling me about my claim on Vault 1."

"Oh, of course of course. I remember the day that vault was opened. It was 985 that year. Very first vault you know. I believe it was a Tuesday, not that we called it Tuesday back then. A man built like an ox came in, which reminds me I need to eat lunch. He walked up to me and said he wanted to open an account, so I took him..."

"WHO! Who was it that opened the account!"

"Oh, a Mr. Evanson. Olaf Evanson. He'd just gotten his first paycheck and wanted somewhere secure. Got a good deal too. Apparently his family had just been robbed blind by the Potthur family. Heard the last one is in school now, called Harvey or something."

"How much sir?" Harry was starting to lose his patience.

"Deposited his life savings, 2 Sickles."

"2 Sickles was his life savings?"

"2 Sickles was a lot of money back then. That, and he had been robbed blind shortly before. And he spent most of his paycheck on a fancy purse. Gluth was that a fancy purse. Monogrammed and everything."

"So the vault contains 2 sickles? I paid 75 Galleons for this?"

"Now wait just a minute, you interrupted me. Fellwa kids these days, getting younger every decade. He got a savings vault, and we gave him a first customer special rate of 2.75 percent interest compounded annually. Had to treat your customers right back then or you'd find yourself out on your bleeth begging for a bit of hard liqueur."

"So how much is in there then?" Harry hoped it would at least cover the price of the search.

"Patience. He never came in again after that, got eaten by a nasty Hungarian Horntail the local fool was attempting to raise on the way home and his family never knew he opened the account. Let's see, carry the 3, round it up, and there." He wiggled his gnarled fingers over a sheet of parchment and writing appeared.

Handing it over, Harry took one look at it before jabbering like a baby. Finally composing himself he asked, "Is, is that really how much money is in there?"

"No, of course not. Haven't got near enough gold to cover that. It's all on paper. Don't think you could stand up properly in those first vaults, they're small. Why once I remember when I was a wee goblin working on the mines, used to keep our lunches in the unfinished vaults before they put locks on 'em. Just about the right size for a side of Pegasus and a flagon of goat blood. Was a lunch fit for a king. Had this whole complex networked out before we ever opened the doors. Don't spread it around but Griphook's sister made me a real goblin in vault 687 back then. Still have a reunion there every summer. She likes it when I use the Galleons in there to..."

"STOP, PLEASE STOP! Just tell me how I can claim it."

"Sorry, got to reminiscing there. All you have to do is show your key at the counter and you can withdraw directly without having to ride the cart. Which reminds me that it's about time for me to go see what Griphook's sister is up to. Do you want a ride down to your other vault for anything while I'm on my way?"

"NO! I mean, no thank you."

"Well, suit yourself." The goblin got up and walked towards a blank wall along the side of the office. Waving his hand, a secret panel opened up to reveal a Unicorn tethered to a small chariot. With a grin, he turns back to Harry. "Upgraded from the grain sack." As the wall closed, he pulled a whip off the wall and gave it a great crack.

Blinking, Harry made his way outside and numbly back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

--ooOoo--

Doing the math, it should come out to exactly 98,581,083,912 Galleons in 1997, provided it had already been compounded for the year.

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	2. The Worst Sort of Muggles

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

These are a pair of drabbles based on the idea of someone worse than the Dursley's raising Harry Potter, as part of the "Worst Sort of Muggles" thread at CaerAzkaban.

--==ooOoo==--

In the early hours of the morning, the door to Number Four Privet Drive creaked open. It had only been three weeks since a new tenant had moved into the Dursley's old house, but the hinges already squeaked. A near skeletal hand reached out and grabbed the basket sitting upon the steps, vanishing inside as the door creaked closed.

"What is it?" A young man in his early twenties stared into the green eyes of the basket's occupant. He wore all black and knee high black boots.

"It's a baby Nny. A human before it grows up." A strangely painted Styrofoam Pillsbury Doughboy responded.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I know these things Nny."

"Well, what do I do with it?" The baby had worked an arm free and was reaching up towards him.

"You feed it and clean up after it and eventually it becomes a real human. It's called 'parenting'"

"PSYCHO DOUGHBOY LIES! You hate any exchange of bodily fluid. Why would you want to keep the results of such a disgusting act?" A second painted doughboy made an appearance from the sitting room.

"I do detest offending sewage of the organism."

"Don't listen to Mr. Eff Nny, he wants to bring about the end of the world. Raise the baby and teach him the trade!" The first doughboy had moved over to the basket and was playing with the baby's exposed hand.

Suddenly, great tears welled up in the baby's eyes and he screamed. "I WANT MUMMY!"

"See! He's selfish, just like all those other sacks of flesh. Use his blood to paint the wall! The wall followed us!"

"You're right. I must do my best as a parent to free him from his endless cycle of want and waste. I shall end his misery and then join him in the cold welcoming nothingness!" He pulled a large knife out of a nearby block of wood. He prepared to plunge the blade into the screaming baby. "I shall set you free of your suffering before I plunge this cold steel into my own heart so we can be free of this existence!"

"Hey, Johnny, the commercial where the family gets diarrhea is on! And the British made it even funnier!" A voice called out just as Nny was about to thrust downwards.

"Ooh!" The man dropped the knife and ran towards the sitting room where a beat up television sat, the baby forgotten, and the knife stuck in the floor next to the basket.

10 years later

Hermione Granger opened the door to the next compartment down the train. "Excuse me, have you seen a OH GOD!" Her speech was interrupted as she lost her lunch all over the floor.

Inside the compartment was covered with blood, three mangled bodies lying upon the floor. The only identifying remains were a few locks of blonde hair. A skinny boy was collecting the blood into buckets as he had a one sided conversation with a baby bunny nailed to a wood board that looked to have been ripped from a wall.

"They kept extolling the wonders of their 'pure blood'. I'm sure father will appreciate the higher quality when he gives the wall another coat." The sound of retching caught his attention. Looking up, he caught sight of the bushy-haired girl who was doubled over.  
"Excuse me, but would you know any healing charms? Some of this blood is actually mine. Little wanker had nails like a girl. Oh, I'm Rry by the way, and this is Nailbunny. Are you a first year too?"

--ooOoo--

Harry Potter raised by Johnny C of Johnny the Homicidal (and  
occasionally Suicidal) Maniac fame.

--==ooOoo==--

The door to #4 Privet Drive opened and a man dressed in a starched white shirt, black slacks, and a black tie stepped out only to nearly trip over the basket left on the porch. He looked down upon the sleeping baby.

"Another for the collective."

--ooOoo--

10 years later

Hermione Granger was making her way down the train to help a boy find his toad. As she opened the door to the next compartment her face paled as she took in the figure sitting there. Before the boy in the white shirt and black tie could look up, she'd slammed the door shut and ran off to hide in the lavatory.

'How did he find me here?' The boy had been plaguing her and her parents for the past 2 years. Ever since there had been a presentation in her primary school and she had foolishly given them her address. They had seemed so interesting and her need to know  
everything around her had been her undoing.

The Granger family had moved six times in the past two years. All over the country and even a brief stint in Ireland. Always he found them. Always with the same lopsided smile and the messy hair. He showed up at their hotels when they were on the road. He was on the beach when they took holidays. They couldn't escape him. And now he was going to be at Hogwarts with her.

As he heard the door slam, Harry Potter looked up. Seeing no one there, he shrugged his shoulders and went back to studying the magazine in front of him. "I didn't even get to ask if they wanted to buy some Amway."

--ooOoo--

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	3. How The Midnight Duel Should Have Gone

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

--==ooOoo==--

It was half-past eleven when the two first year boys snuck out of their dormitory and down into the common room. Harry, the dark haired boy had been challenged by his classmate Draco Malfoy to a Wizards Duel at midnight. The other boy, red-haired Ron Weasley had stepped up as Harry's second. They were almost to the portrait hole when a voice from a nearby chair stopped them.

"I can't believe you're going through with this Harry!" A quiet _lumos_ later and Hermione Granger appeared in her Pink Bathrobe. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could get into? How many points you could lose?"

"You! Why aren't you in bed where you belong?" A furious Ron demanded. "Don't you have better things to do than to stick your buck teeth in better people's business?"

Harry bit back a wince. Sure, the girl was intruding on their business, but that didn't mean she deserved to be insulted like that. But he also didn't want to disappoint his first friend his own age, and this duel seemed really important to Ron. "Please Hermione, can you pretend you didn't see anything? We promise to be careful."

"You! You! URG! Fine, go then! Go get in trouble, get _Gryffindor_ in trouble. I hope it's worth it. You obviously don't care about anyone but yourselves you selfish prats. But when you end up on the Express back home tomorrow just remember _I Told You So!_" With a huff, she turned and stormed back over to the chair she had been occupying and began collecting her things.

Thinking of returning to the Dursley's stopped Harry cold. As more of what she said permeated his thoughts he realized that he had been acting just like Dudley: doing what he wanted regardless of the rules. And that was not someone he wanted to be. "Ron, I don't think we should go. I don't know enough magic and I really don't want to get sent back home." He then turned to go apologize to Hermione. He had only taken three steps when Mt. Ron erupted.

"Fine, run back to the bossy little know-it-all! I thought you were cool but you're just a scaredy-kneasle! Good luck finding any friends being in the library all day, though. Who needs you anyway; I can win this duel all by myself, without the Famous Harry Potter." Ron turned on his heel and stormed out of the common room.

Harry and Hermione just stared at each other for a moment, neither sure what to say. Noise from the stairs drew their attention away from each other as Percy Weasley entered the common room. "What are you two doing down here? I thought I heard shouting, and it is my job as a Prefect to investigate."

Thinking on his feet, Harry grabbed one of the books that hadn't been collected by his bushy-haired classmate and said "Sorry, Percy, sir. We were just reading together and lost track of time. I stubbed my toe and shouted a bit as we were getting up." He hung his head down as though he were ashamed.

"Well, reading is very important, especially your school texts. Please try to keep better track of time from now on and do keep it down at night. Off to bed now, the both of you."

Under Percy's supervision, the two of them made their way to the stairs. At the bottom, the two first years looked at each other and Harry gave the surprised girl a small smile. "I'll get this back to you then," he said, gesturing towards the book he still carried.

A small blush rose in her cheeks, unseen in the dim light of their wands. "S-sure. Goodnight"

"'Night, Hermione." With that, he headed up the stairs followed by the older prefect. As he settled down into his bed for the night, he realized he still had some energy in him. As it was the weekend, he decided a bit of reading was in order and closed his curtains before looking at the pilfered text. "Hogwarts, A History. After tonight I probably should."

--ooOoo--

Ron was angry. First that ponce Potter ditches him for the bossy girl, then he almost gets caught by Flitwick, and now, NOW, Malfoy was late! Leaning up against one of the display cases he pulled out a bit of pie saved in a napkin from dinner. As he ate, he failed to hear Filch coming down the hall until he was almost upon him. If the grizzled old caretaker didn't mutter to himself Ron would have been caught completely unawares. Dropping his pie and running, the lanky first year didn't notice he had stepped in the filling and was leaving tasty tracks for Mrs. Norris to follow.

Ron ran wherever the halls seemed to lead him. At one point he had to dodge Hagrid who was coming out of a dark corridor. Thinking the coast would be clear behind the large groundskeeper he dashed into where the large man had come from. As he reached the end of the corridor and a dead end, he stopped to listen. He could hear Hagrid's heavy footfalls leaving the area and nothing else. Relaxing against the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief. He had done it, he had gotten away. He let his heartbeat return to normal for several minutes and then stood up. Pulling another pilfered slice of pie from his robes, he took a big bite just as Hagrid's footsteps came back.

Frantic, the red-head shoved the rest of his food in his mouth and grabbed the handle to the door behind him. It gave easily and the door swung open on well-oiled hinges. He pulled it shut and closed it as quietly as he could. He turned around and stared in horror at the three-headed dog that was lazily staring back. He screamed, but the pie in his mouth muffled the sounds. Suddenly, the dog pounced.

--ooOoo--

Fluffy had just had an enjoyable visit with his master. Master had scratched behind all his ears and had even gotten his foot to kick with a good belly itch. Master had even given Fluffy a large steak per head. He tucked him in with their teddy-bears and promised that next time he'd have a favorite treat for us. Then the door opened and a Little came in. Master had made them promise not to hurt any of the Little's. The Little looked at Fluffy and made a garbled noise. The air filled with the smell of blueberry pie as bits and pieces flew from the Little's mouth. Fluffy did so love blueberry pie, it was his favorite. And Master had said he would be getting his favorite. Fluffy bent down to get the food from the Little's mouth, because Get The Food From The Mouth was a favorite game played with Master. As Fluffy chewed his pie, he noted it was crunchier than normal, and tasted much closer to steak than to pie.

--ooOoo--

Hagrid was almost to the entry hall when he remembered. He trekked all the way back to the 3rd floor corridor and back to the room holding Fluffy. He had forgotten to lock the door behind him after tucking in his beloved pet. Taking a large key ring out of his pocket, he selected the correct one quickly and gave it a test. Good, locked tightly. No students were going to be bothering his Fluffy tonight!

--==ooOoo==--

Written in response to the challenge "Ron dies in first year."

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	4. It's All About Intent

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

It's All About Intent

--ooOoo--

It was the third week of term when Hermione Granger entered the Head's Suite Common Room to find her counterpart Harry Potter working on his independent Arithmancy assignments. This in and of itself wasn't odd as he was planning on sitting the Arithmancy OWL at the Ministry on Halloween. The odd part was that instead of parchment and quill, or even muggle pen and paper, he was using a large black graphing  
calculator.

Feeling eyes upon him, Harry looked up and gave a small smile. "Did you need something Hermione? I'm just about finished."

"Harry James Potter, what do you think you're doing!"

"I believe I'm plotting out the wave length of the stunning spell."

"But HOW are you doing it!"

"Oh, I simply input the formula and the range I want, and the calculator does the rest." Harry really didn't see what was so confusing. He knew she had a calculator at her parents from when she was in Primary School.

"B-b-but you simply CAN'T do Arithmancy with a calculator!"

"Sure you can, it's simply advanced math. This baby here can do things far higher than I need to ace even my NEWTS." Harry was getting worried for his friend. It seemed the stress of trying to beat the previous NEWTS record was already getting to her. "One of the private tutors I spoke with highly recommended it to me, said it revolutionized the way spells were broken down and built back up in the private sector."

"Does that mean there are magical calculators?"

"Possibly, but I bought this little guy at the tech shop on Charring Cross, 'bout 3 blocks from the Cauldron. Paid a pretty sickle but it's been worth it already."

"How does it work then? According to Hogwarts, A History no electronic devices work within the area."

"Easy, you know that magic is all about intent, right? How the incantations and wand movements are simply ways of focusing that intent?" At Hermione's tentative nod, he continued. "I'm simply using that intent for my own benefit."

"Are...are you saying you're WILLING your electronic calculator to work?"

"Nope, just look here." He handed the small machine to his best friend upside down and gestured towards a bit of writing on the back. A small notation looked to have been added in blood and the whole of it was covered by a thin layer of clear nail polish.

'This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is Subject ot the following two conditions. (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must ^NOT accept any interference received including interference that may cause undesired operation.'

--ooOoo--

No idea what it says on the back of calculators in the UK, but that's word for word (almost) from the back of mine. The calculator I'm envisioning Harry using is a TI-92, a big bulky thing that was on the market at the time complete with QWERTY keyboard.

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	5. The Nanny that Saved The World

This little bit of nonsense popped into my head at work tonight and I had to get it out quickly lest it become something much larger. It's about why Dumbledore is so certain that Lily's love and sacrifice is what protected Harry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

The Nanny That Saved The World

--oo0oo--

Albus Dumbledore stood in the partially destroyed nursery of the Potter's home in Godric's Hollow. He was there to determine exactly what had happened between Voldemort and young Mr. Potter. Glancing around, he saw the two large charred areas of the floor; one where the Dark Lord had fallen and one directly in front of where Harry was found unconscious. Between them was the white outline where Lily had lie.

"So history is repeating itself," the elderly man said to himself. "A sacrifice of love has destroyed another Dark Lord." With tears in his eyes, his memories took him to a younger time.

Flashback

Albus Dumbledore, noted alchemist and Hogwarts Professor, was spending the summer of 1945 with his old nanny traveling abroad continental Europe. He knew there was a war going on, but he also knew he was a lover, not a fighter. Albus was taking his girl for one final vacation, as her health had been worsening and both knew their time together was drawing to a close.

Forbidden love had cropped up between the two, and for years they had hid their relationship, their fires of passion burning only behind closed barn doors of his parents property. As Albus became older he grew tired of hiding, and with a little convincing and lot of love the two stepped into the light.

There had been ridicule and slander. People claimed that it wasn't right for Albus, a scion of a Pureblood line, to cavort like they were.

Eventually the furor died down and the two lived peacefully on a farm near Hogsmeade. All was perfect until she began to get sick. Sparing no expense, Albus hired the best specialists he could find, only to be told time and again that she was simply growing too old, that her body was beginning to fail. That was when they decided to take one final tour with a goal to make love in every country.

The pair were in Poland when it happened. Grindelwald ambushed them as they shared a tryst in a forest meadow.

Caught quite literally with his pants down, Albus could only close his eyes and wait for the pain as the Dark Lord fired a putrid looking hex at his prone form. A rather sickening noise and a warm rain on his face caused him to open his eyes, only to begin weeping at the sight. Esmerelda, his beloved British Alpine goat, had jumped in front of the entrail exploding curse.

As Grindelwald lined up another shot, his skin began to smoke. Focusing through the pain he fired a killing curse point blank at Albus only to have the green light splash harmlessly against his target's shirt.  
Letting out a pain-filled scream, the Dark Lord's body burned to a crisp yet no flames were visible.

Ignoring the dying wizard, Albus cradled the goat's head in his lap as he gazed into the eyes that still held a spark of life. Albus could feel the magic of his brothers charm begin to waver as her life signs dwindled. Her breaths were short and ragged and there was bloody foam on her lips.

"I l-l-l-love you Al-l-l-l-lbus." Her final words bleat, her spirit was released and the charms which gave her a voice failed. Gently, he closed her eyes and placed a final kiss upon her nose as silent tears streaked his face.

Flashback end.

Albus had never asked exactly how Grindelwald had died; he never needed to. He knew that his lovers selfless sacrifice had protected him, just as Lily's had now protected Harry. His inspection finished and a complete picture of what had happened in the nursery firmly in place, he set off to place the blood wards around Number 4, Privet Drive.

--oo0oo--

Peace Out

Lord Retro

p.s. Grindelwald was killed by the goats blood interacting with a protective potion he had on his skin which consumed his magic at an astounding rate.


	6. Hunger

I do not own Harry Potter.

--oo0oo--

Ronald Weasley was hungry. This was nothing new to him. Hunger had been his constant companion for as long as he could remember. He could hold it at bay with 3 square meals a day (that would fill 2 normal people) and various snacks, but the primal, base urge was never satiated.

It was, however, during the final confrontation with the Dark Lord Voldemort that his hunger began to lose control.

--oo0oo--

Voldemort had been attempting to obtain the power behind the locked door in the Department of Mysteries. As a full member of the Order of the Phoenix, he, as well as the other members, had responded full force.

Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been dueling the Dark Lord as the battle progressed to the Chamber of Death while their friends fought nearby. Ginny's tortured scream distracted Ron, who fired a cutting curse at Bellatrix Lestrange, severing a foot while another order member stunned her.

His distraction cost him as an inky black spell caught his shoulder, knocking him off his feet and in front of the veil. Ginny picked herself up and made her way to him as fast as she could, seeing all the Death Eaters locked in combat already.

As she began to check him over, insidious laughter filled the room just as Voldemort's banisher launched brother and sister through the veil.

--oo0oo--

Hunger.

Deep aching hunger.

Nothing could make this hunger disappear.

--oo0oo--

The pair had landed in a cave. A mural on the wall appeared identical to the veil, but was nothing more than a simple carving, so far as they could tell.

The cave had an abundant amount of small animals, though they looked nothing like any creature they knew about. Ron's hunger, however, soon cleared the area of cave of any life.

For weeks, they moved along the cave system, occasionally trekking outside when the twin suns set. Ron was gaining noticeable girth while Ginny appeared almost gaunt.

Eventually, they ran out of caves and opened onto desert. Hot, unforgiving desert. Transfiguring traveling cloaks the pair moved under cover of darkness, Ron's hunger gnawing at him as prey was few and far between.

--oo0oo--

After 3 days in the desert, they came across a band of traveling merchants. The people were short and had glowing eyes, but they welcomed them and proceeded to show their wares. A quick pantomime later and a selection of unknown foodstuffs was brought out.

Ron couldn't take it and began gorging himself on the available meats and small fruits. When the small people protested, he began firing curses at them. Soon he had worked himself into a frenzy and before long all of the merchants lay dead or dying. After cleaning out their larders, his hunger drove him to doing what had once been unthinkable: he began to eat the merchants.

Ginny for her part, was already weak from hunger. She had hunkered down away from the frenzied battle, but the smell of burnt flesh from the cursed travelers tortured her rapidly shrinking stomach. Desperation drove her and she quickly filled a transfigured pack with shrunk and preserved meat while her brother devoured the rest.

--oo0oo--

3000 years later

-o0o-

Ron could feel the reverberations as the transport approached him. Food was coming. This food was not prey, though. This food was a sacrifice. A bubble of pride shot through him as he thought about it. People worshiped HIM, they provided HIM with sacrifices.

It had been a thousand years since he had last moved, and yet they still feared what would happen if he did. He had devoured an entire spaceport, ships and all, as well as triggering earthquakes for miles.

Sacrifices had been slim lately, and it had been years since the last from this local lord. Over a millenia ago he had learned to keep his prey alive while slowly sucking away at their nutrients. He could last for another 500 years at least with the food currently living a cursed life in his belly.

The transport approached closer and Ron wiggled his appendages in anticipation. He no longer resembled a human: he had evolved. He was a GOD and all on this planet worshiped him, from the small descendants from those first merchants to the wandering warriors and the local lord.

The warriors were his favorite, as their sacrifice could feed him for a hundred years easily, although the local lord's always tended to tickle his belly in a delightful way.

They're here. Sounds reverberated down to him, and though he couldn't make them out he knew they were platitudes of worship. More sounds, almost like fighting. Obviously they were fighting for the honor of giving him the sacrifice.

AHH! Wriggly food. This was his favorite sacrifice of the lord, as it always teased his mind of a long ago memory: Bacon.

More food! And the fighting was still ongoing.

OW! He withdrew his injured appendage. This was going on long enough.

More and more food! Delicious, wonderful food. And still more fighting.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked him and left him dazed. Silence reigned as he regained his bearings and began the long process of digesting his large sacrifice.

--oo0oo--

Boba Fett cleared his head and looked around. He was in a damp and musky cave with vines and pods all around. Withdrawing a blaster from his boot he made his way towards the wall and a larger than average pod.

As he approached, the pod shifted slightly and a head rose. Stringy red hair barely visible in the dim light framed a gaunt female face. Hollow, dead eyes bore straight into his own even through his visor as the various vines grabbed him and began the slow, painful process of connecting him to the Almighty Sarlaac.

--oo0oo--

I have no idea where this came from, it simply popped into my head last night at work.

Peace Out

Lord Retro

P.S. I don't own Star Wars either


	7. The Eyes Have It

I do not own Harry Potter.

A bit of spell-work can bypass a lot of things that shouldn't be for personal safety reasons. Although the prick in me thinks that by cheating to get what he wants and ignoring the safety and risk measures like Dudley or Malfoy, he deserves anything bad he gets.

--ooOoo--

In his summer before 3rd year, while spending his weeks alone in Diagon Alley, Harry had learned 2 wonderful facts from the drunken patrons in the Cauldron. First and foremost was that the magical trace on his wand was temporarily negated by the large number of wards and charms around the alley and surrounding few blocks. Secondly was a mild compulsion charm mostly used to keep kids from running off in crowds but was impossible to resist for muggles.

Invisibility cloak in hand he had discovered a LASIK surgeon around the corner of the Leaky Cauldron and had, after being rebuked at the front desk, made liberal use of his new charm to get fast-tracked into the operating room. He had left money with the now much nicer lady at the front desk who simply took what he handed her and smiled. That it was less than a quarter of the normal fee was never mentioned to him since he was never in the computer and so never properly invoiced. The be-spelled secretary had told him it was just right, although she would have said that if he had handed her an American dollar bill.

--ooOoo--

It was the summer before 5th year and Harry was miserable. His eyesight was getting so bad that he was forced to dig his old glasses from the bottom of his trunk. That had been right before the 3rd task of the TriWizard Tournament. Now, barely a month into his summer holidays and even his old spectacles were failing him as his vision got worse and worse.

As Harry lie in his small bedroom, shaking from his latest gruesome vision, he connected the dots. His vision was perfect before he started witnessing Voldemort over the connection. It had gotten worse and worse as they had become more and more frequent. These last few weeks since the rebirth had been the fastest degeneration yet. It was obvious to him now: Voldemort was destroying his eyesight.

Realizing that he needed to get this taken care of quickly, he called out to his aunt as she delivered his meager rations and was able to bribe her with a generous wad of converted muggle money to drop him off at the nearby optometrist. The auto door had barely closed behind him before his aunt had driven off, leaving him alone to deal with getting back.

As it was a slow Tuesday, Harry was shown back without an appointment with minimal wait. The doctor entered, and once he got close enough, Harry recognized him as one of the neighbors who had always thought he was a no good delinquent. With a few gruff instructions, he set to work examining Harry's eyes. He hadn't been looking for more than a few seconds before pulling the machine away.

"Good gods son, have you had corrective surgery?" He wasn't close enough for Harry to see his glare, but the accusatory tone was unmistakable.

Suddenly feeling very small, Harry nodded.

"When?"

Staring at the doctors blurred feet (that were actually part of his chair) Harry mumbled out his answer.

"I didn't catch that. Now when did you get this done, or are you as mute as you are blind."

Years of conditioning kicked in and he said in as solid a voice as he could manage, "Shortly after I turned 13, sir."

After a long string of muttered expletives, the doctor addressed him again. "What kind of crackpot doctor did you find to do this to you? If he even has a license he'll lose it for sure."

"Dr. Issac's at Eye-Point in London, sir."

A gruff laugh sounded before he continued. "You must have been one of his last patients then. Got caught 2 August past here skimming from their banks. Found his tech had been working off the books as it were and an extra thousand pounds in the till. Ruined his life for a few extra quid. Probably didn't care much when he did you."

Harry felt his stomach turn to an icy rock as he realized it was his fault the doctor got fired.

"What I want to know is why you went looking for an extreme option in the first place."

Harry thought hard on his answer and went with a half-truth. "I've always had trouble with my glasses, sir. Lose them at bad times and they're a liability in the sports and schoolyard fights I get in." The man already thought he was a delinquent, and almost all his fights HAD taken place at school. "I was staying downtown and saw them."

"So you went with surgery without looking into other options? Plain as day that your glasses don't fit properly, so of course they're not going to stay put. You mustered up the scratch for over 50 cheap durable frames to get that fancy light shone in your eyes. If you really didn't want frames, contacts are only a bit more pricey than your average pair. Well, lets see what the damage is."

The doctor moved his equipment back into position and resumed his examination. 20 minutes later he finished up and stored his tools.

"Well, Potter, I got bad news, more bad news, and good news. Bad news is that the good Doctor wasn't nearly as careful as he should have been and burned away a bit more than he should have. Not enough to be noticeable at first, but as your eyes grew and changed, it shifted enough to make it a problem, and your vision got steadily worse the more your eyes changed. If he'd have cared what he was doing, you wouldn't have been anywhere near that machine 'til he was convinced your eyes were going to stay as is, and that doesn't normally happen 'til bout your 20's."

The icy rock in his stomach began to climb towards Harry's throat as he remembered his liberal use of the charm whenever an objection arose.

"More bad news is that putting your old specs back on was about the worst thing you could have done. Your eyesight was deteriorating rapidly already, and by forcing it to try and focus through the wrong prescription simply accelerated your vision loss with the extra strain. You seem pretty pale, too, like you don't get outside often. Are you using adequate lighting inside, especially when you read?" Harry shook his head no. "The poor light would have put even more strain on your eyes then. No wonder it went as fast as it did."

The optometrist paused to take a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. "The good news is we can hopefully halt the progress with some special lenses. Not a guaranteed fix, but should let you see well enough, and hopefully it will take the strain off your eyes to have the proper prescription. Only real hitch is that if your eyes keep changing, which is a very big possibility at your age, they'll change prescription and the damage will start up again, probably long before you actually notice."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief that he would still be able to see and the cold lump began to rescind. He got up and followed the doctor to the racks of frames. He eventually settled on a sensible set of wire frames that accentuated his face nicely, according to the secretary. He went up to the counter to pay and pulled his money out of his pocket. As he counted through it the cold lump returned full force. He didn't have nearly enough. In his near-blind state he had given his aunt the majority of his funds.

--ooOoo--

Harry Potter sat in his bedroom and simply stared at his reflection in the broken mirror. His uncle had been incredibly put out at having to pay for his new glasses. He had refused to pay a single pence more than absolutely necessary meaning Harry got the cheapest pair that actually fit him.

The frames were even thicker than his old pair, and colored bright pink. A cartoon cat face sat above one eye and the words "Hello Kitty" above the other. The lenses themselves were thick enough to be easily noticeable from the side. He only hoped no one he knew would see him before he could get to Gringotts and exchange more money.

The Dursley's were out receiving an award for the 'Best Kept Suburban Lawn' or some such nonsense and had locked him in his room. So focused on his own misery that he didn't hear the secret visitors until his bedroom door opened and a cheery female voice called out "Wotcher, Harry! Come to take you to see your friends."

--ooOoo--

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	8. The Best Animagus Form Ever

I Do Not Own Harry Potter

-oo0oo-

It had taken months of study, but Harry had done it. He'd become an animagus. His form was unique he thought, even if a good deal of the school saw one at least weekly.

And now, he was going to have some fun before he did the responsible thing of registering.

As one of his target passed into his line of sight and began divesting clothing, an appreciative growl sounded low in his throat.

The last 2 targets entered his view already nude and still dripping water slightly from their showers. His growl became more pronounced as he stared unabashedly at their nubile forms.

A sudden feeling of calmness filled him and he closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation. After a moment it stopped and he reopened his eyes. As he took in the girls before him, the growl came once again unbidden.

As before, he was filled with an almost intoxicating calm almost immediately before he felt a sudden pressure on his mouth. He tried to fight it but it was no good, he couldn't open his powerful jaws.

-o0o-

Hemione Granger put down her Monster Book of Monsters after re-applying the belt to keep it closed. She wasn't sure what was up with the odd semi-living book, but wasn't about to get her slippers gnawed again.

-oo0oo-

I know the Monster Book of Monsters is a bit of a stretch, but who cares.

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	9. Heirs of a Dead Man

I do not own Harry Potter.

-oo0oo-

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, the Chosen One, and 6th year Gryffindor, carefully pried his nude form from the pile of bodies lying on the conjured mattress. Gently, he removed the lingering hand of Parvati Patil 'Or was it Padma, not that it matters.'

Sitting on the edge, he brushed a strawberry blonde curl out of Susan Bone's face as she tried to follow his body warmth.

Curled up at the foot of the bed was Luna Lovegood, her nubile body shivering slightly in the cold that had set in after the fireplace burned out.

Harry conjured a large comfy blanket and eased it onto the sleeping girls before glancing at the inner part of his left wrist. A touch of his wand lit up a small symbol that was completely filled with glowing blue light.

"It's time." He whispered to himself. Donning a cloak, he walked swiftly from the room without looking back.

-oo0oo-

Bathsheba Babbling returned to her bedroom after a relaxing bath. She had been so tense lately that even her 3rd years had noticed. In her NEWTS class, she had almost blown up the classroom when she almost charged an improperly carved rune. Hermione Granger had caught her just in time, though, and prevented catastrophe.

A small laugh escaped her lips as she toweled off her hair. It was a private joke shared only with one other that she had taken over Hermione's job: that of worrying about Harry Potter.

And it was Mr. Potter that had her in such a state recently. He had come to her early in term with a question about some self-study runes text he had picked up. He had stopped in several more times with questions out of other books, but she could not piece together what he was working towards. Finally she asked him.

Flashback

Harry closed the door behind him as he entered her office, a new book tucked under his arm.

"Hi Professor, I was wondering if you could explain the rune schematic for permanent space expansion? This book has it, but it doesn't explain why it works or how it all fits."

She watched as he sat and placed the book on the table. Just as he was going to open it, she placed her hand upon it, keeping it closed.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing."

Harry gave her a strange, sideways look. "I'm asking you about Ancient Runes. You are the Ancient Runes Professor, aren't you Professor Babbling?"

A small smile on her lips, she continued. "I understand that you're asking me questions. What I don't understand is what for? What are you hoping to gain from these questions? What sort of project are you working on?"

A flash of trepidation crossed the young mans face before taking on a look of determination. "I am working on a plan to destroy Voldemort. Unfortunately, I'm quickly realizing I can't do it alone. Will you help me Professor Babbling? Will you lend me your expertise to rid our world of this evil?"

Shock filled her system and froze her mind even as her body shuddered in response to that feared name. Slowly, she nodded her head. "Y-yes. I will help you."

"Not good enough. I need an oath."

"What!" Outraged, she began to stand to, well, she didn't know what, but she was going to do something. A holly wand between the eyes decided that the something was to sit back down slowly.

"I will have your oath or I will wipe this conversation from your memory. I can NOT take any chances."

With a shaking hand and wavering voice, she pledged her help and her secrecy.

End Flashback.

Her body dry and her hair wrapped she walked to her wardrobe to find her favorite brush. As her fingers reached for the handle her attention was grabbed by the small amulet resting beside it.

The usually dull crystal was now pulsing with blue light.

"Oh Merlin! He finished it!" Grabbing a robe she made a mad dash towards the door.

The blood pulsed in her ears as she ran for the entrance hall. In her haste, she collided with her colleague Professor Snape.

"Severus! Have you seen Harry this evening? It's urgent we find him."

"What has Potter done now?" His trademark sneer was lost as he grabbed his arm in pain. "The Dark Lord is calling, I'll deal with the whelp when I get back."

As his dark robe billowed behind him, Bathsheba Babbling dropped to her knees and gave out a heart-wrenching sob.

-oo0oo-

-oo0oo-

Hermione Granger was having a bit of a lie in. It was Sunday, her homework was caught up, and her bed was just right. Normally she would have been to breakfast and already preparing some sort of activity, but her thoughts kept drifting back to the letter her father had sent the night previous.

Princess, remember your promise no matter what.

Your mother sends her love.

Love Daddy

The promise was one he had extracted from her shortly before she left for Hogwarts this year.

-oo Flashback oo-

Hermione was sitting on her bed reading through the coming years charms text when her father knocked on her open doorway.

"Can I come in princess?"

Looking up from the book, the soon to be 6th year studied her father for a moment. He hadn't called her Princess since she was in primary school and she had firmly told him that because he wasn't a King, she couldn't be a Princess. He looked pale and appeared to be sweating rather heavily.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Yes, I mean no, I mean, urg, it's complicated." He ran his hand through his thinning hair before wiping the sweat off on his trouser leg. "Can I come in?"

"Of course!" She marked her place and set the book on the nightstand. Patting to a spot on her bed, he took the offered seat. She could hear him taking deep breaths as they sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, her patience ran out. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Sex." He was looking everywhere except at her, and his face had gotten even paler.

Hermione had to stifle a laugh now that she understood where his nervousness was coming from. "Don't worry daddy, mum already gave me this talk years ago."

After another deep breath, he finally turned to look at her. "No, no she didn't. She gave you the talk about the birds and the bees. This is a bit more, well, adult of a talk."

At her confused look, he started again. "In a few weeks you'll be 17, and legally an adult in the other world. I just want to talk to you about making smart choices."

A hurt look crossed Hermione's face. "Don't you and mum trust me?"

"This isn't about trust. This is about the truth. I trust that you'll make informed decisions about adult activities and be the intelligent responsible young woman I know you are."

Hermione beamed under her father's praise.

"But I know the truth is that when your hormones are flowing and you get in the heat of the moment even the smartest of us make poor decisions.

"I'm not demanding that you abstain and wait for marriage. I'd absolutely love it if you did, but you'll be an adult with nearly 10 months away from mum and dad. Plus, you'll only be minimally supervised if even half of what you claim to have gotten up to is correct.

"I understand what it's like to be that age. I was sexually active by your age, and your mother wasn't much older than you her first time. All I ask is that you try not to get so caught up in the moment that you forget to be safe."

Hermione didn't think her face could get any brighter she was blushing so hard. True, she had thought about sex, but she wasn't planning on jumping into bed with anyone. Unless of course a certain green-eyed wizard wised up to the fact she was a girl.

Her father's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "I just want you to promise me one thing, Hermione."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Promise me you will never, in any way shape or form, have sex with Harry Potter." His cobalt eyes bore directly into her own.

"Wh, what! Why? Why not Harry?"

"I don't care what he says. I don't care if he tells you that fucking him is the only way to defeat Voldemort. Promise me you will not touch him!"

Hermione's eyes widened. She had never heard her father curse before. "But, but why?"

"I have my reasons. Just promise me!" His hands were shaking and there was a hint of cracking in his voice.

"I, I promise."

"Promise what?"

"I promise that I will not have sexual relations in any way shape or form with Harry James Potter." There were tears in her eyes as she realized her daydreams and fantasies would never come to pass.

"Thank you Hermione. I promise you that someday soon you'll understand why I asked that of you." He stood and silently left the room.

-oo Flashback End oo-

Hermione was pulled from her thoughts when she heard the door open and one her roommates enter the dorm. Years of listening to footfalls told her it was Parvati.

"Just getting in Pav?" The voice of her other roommate Lavender.

"Mmmm, yes. Took me this long just to make sure I could walk properly."

Hermione's curiosity over what Parvati was doing, combined with the warmth of her covers, stifled her initial reaction to storm out of bed and fulfill her prefect duties. Since she rarely had a lie in, and her bed hangings were closed, they obviously thought they were alone.

"So, going to share just who this mystery man is that seems quite capable of shagging you senseless?"

"Maybe," Parvati drew out the word to the torture of both listeners. "He did tell us that we didn't have to keep it a secret after last night."

"Wait, you said 'us'. Does that mean what I think it means?"

Hermione could almost hear the smirk on the Indian girl's face.

"There were a number of girls there." There was a pause and Hermione could imagine Lavender's look of teasing accusation. "And maybe we kept each other warm while Harry was otherwise occupied."

All noise stopped in the dorm room before Lavender gave an excited squeal. "When did this happen! How did this happen! Why haven't you told me before now, and how come other girls got to come and I didn't? Was Hermione there? I thought you hated Harry for how he treated you at the Yule Ball?"

Parvati laughed. "One question at a time Lav, you almost sounded like Granger."

Hermione pouted behind her bed hangings.

"It started shortly after term started. I'll get to the how in a minute, but I didn't tell you because we were all sworn to secrecy. I have no idea why you weren't picked, and no Granger wasn't there. As for the Yule Ball, well, he made it up to me by sneaking us out one night to a muggle dance club."

"But didn't you even once think of bringing me along? You know I've wanted to give him a ride! And you still need to tell me how this came about."

"Of course I wanted to bring my best friend along, but that ties into the how. Last summer, Harry set up a meeting with my father. He was in there for over an hour before both Pad and I were called in. The four of us then came to an agreement."

"Wait, Padma got to ride Harry too!"

"Yes, and so did Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Luna Lovegood, Su Li, Lisa Turpin, and probably a few more. Those were just the ones I was with. Padma was in the other group, but she couldn't tell me who because of the oath."

Lavender, albeit with a slight hitch in her voice, asked "Let me get this straight. Harry came to your house and your dad agreed to let you what, join up with Harry's Harem?"

Hermione wanted to know the answer to that as well.

"No, we weren't his harem or anything. And that's not what we agreed to."

"How could you NOT be his harem?" Lavender was almost shouting now. "You just admitted that he made an agreement with your father, and probably with the rest of their parents as well, and you all just pile into a big orgy every weekend?"

"Keep your voice down!" Parvati admonished her friend. "We weren't a harem. We were all there for a specific purpose. It wasn't an orgy either. True a few of us kept each other going, but that was mostly just Greengrass, Lovegood, and me. Daphne prefers girls for the most part and Luna, well, Luna is a free spirit who seems to like anything as long as everyone has fun. For the most part it was only one or two of us there, we only got the big group a few times."

"You keep mentioning this agreement, what was it?" Lavender didn't sound like she could take any more surprises.

Before Parvati could answer the near silent pop of a House Elf sounded in the room.

"Master Harry Potter sir wanted you to have this." Dobby, Hermione realized, and it sounded as though he'd been crying. A moment later another pop signaled his departure.

"A Gringott's key? Why would Potter be giving you that?" Lavender sounded cautiously curious, much the same that Hermione felt upon hearing what was delivered.

"Well, um, it's, it is, um, part of the agreement." Parvati muttered.

"He's PAYING you! Are you his whores or something?" Lavender was shouting once again.

"No! It's not like that. The money isn't for me. And keep your voice down."

"Did your father pimp you out then!" Lavender was quieter, but there was a definite edge to her voice.

"What, no! How could you think that!" Parvati sounded close to crying.

Sitting up in her bed, Hermione wondered just what her roommate had agreed to.

"Then who is that money for. If he got you a vault it has to be a good sized sum."

From her spot behind the curtains, Hermione could hear a muttered spell before Lavender screamed once more. "You're pregnant!"

Hermione's blood turned to ice as the proclamation.

"We all are," Parvati continued in a low voice. "That's what the agreement was; each of us is carrying a future Potter. He's my son, but he stands to inherit an equal portion of the Potter estate, and will carry the Potter name to continue the line."

-oo0oo-

Harry Potter lie on the floor of the opulent throne room. He was surrounded by death eaters laughing and jeering at him. He had been captured the night previous and Voldemort had immediately summoned all of his minions to witness the defeat of the Boy-Who-Lived.

For hours he had been tortured. As a victory present, Voldemort had allowed each of his followers a chance to curse "The Chosen One".

Broken and bleeding, Harry glanced at the still-visible rune gently glowing on his wrist and smiled. All of his work was about to come to pass, the war was almost over.

Lucius Malfoy had just finished when Voldemort himself stepped forward.

"My friends, I do hope you have been enjoying the festivities on this glorious morning! Today we are one step closer to our goals! Here lies their savior, the proclaimed Hero of the Light. A lost little lamb about to be slaughtered by a pack of wolves.

"I made a mistake the last time we faced each other. I shall not repeat it. Goodbye Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!."

As the green light streaked towards his prone form, Harry felt at peace.

-oo0oo-

Tracy Davis stretched out on her bed in the Slytherin Dorms. She had just woken from a night of restless sleep. Worry plagued her but she couldn't pinpoint the source.

Making sure her curtains were drawn closed, she waved her wand at her abdomen as she muttered a spell. The soft pink glow reassured her and filled her with hope for the future.

Reaching for the pendant she always kept on her person, one that matched Bathsheba Babbling's, she stared into the glowing depths. It hadn't been glowing when she went to bed, she thought.

"It's finished," she said to herself. "Will he say goodbye to me?"

As she watched, the glow brightened for a brief moment before dieing out, a large crack appearing on the surface.

As tears filled her eyes, she left her bed before moving across the room to where her friend Daphne was reading a book. Throwing herself into the other girls arms she barely managed to say "He didn't even say goodbye" before the floodgates opened.

Daphne simply closed her curtains and held her friend while her own tears began to fall.

-oo0oo-

A/N

This story will never get finished. It was sitting on my hard drive and since I'm leaving fanfiction, I figured I'd post it.

The basic gist was that Dumbledore was right about the power of love, but just not in what form. Harry has been collecting the magic given off by the conception of a child in a runic bracelet that was linked to Daphne's and Professor Babbling's. Harry flew to Riddle Manor and allowed himself to be captured. Voldemort called all his followers to witness his defeat. When he cast a cruciatus at Harry, it tripped the runic trigger and everything magical for a 100 foot radius was sucked into the rune engraved bracelet. Hermione's dad was in on the plan and retrieved the bracelet. The only way to escape the trap is to willingly give up your magic, something Voldemort and the Death Eaters will never do. Harry escapes and is adopted into the Granger family, hence Mr. Granger's little speech. He knew what was going to happen to Harry and the children. Hermione comes home, finds Harry at her house, there's a tearful reunion and who knows what happens next.

Peace Out

Lord Retro


	10. Farewell

Alas, the time has come where life has become much more important than Fanfiction. I've loved reading the hundreds if not thousands of stories, and even trying my had at writing myself.

Unfortunately, between my new job, my wifes job, and a toddler, I'm not going to have any time to myself for a very long time.

I've been a Fanfiction Addict for a number of years now, sacrificing sleep, putting a strain on my relationship, and missing out on a large number of moments in my son's early life. I'm putting it away cold turkey.

My stories will be left on the site for people to enjoy, but I will be turning all my alerts off.

There are many great authors on this site, and I'm honored to have read their works. I'm also honored by the number of people who have enjoyed my work and let me know about it in reviews and private messages.

If anyone would like to continue one of my stories, please send me a PM and we'll talk.

Peace Out (for the last time)

Lord Retro


End file.
